BBQ 911...

Today, the air will smell of smoky barbecued chicken,
dogs,burgers and steak.
There’s nothing like the tantalizing aroma of grilled
meat circling one’s nose…

I tried barbecuing once, or twice.
Actually, I used a hibachi grill--some
cheap grill I had picked up just to see if
grilling was my thing.

It was Memorial Day, 1988, and Tom was
flying a trip. Paul was at his friend’s house.
Jen invited her gal friend over since I declared
that I’d take the girls to Coyote Point in
San Mateo for a barbecue.

I was armed with briquettes and free-range
chicken breasts. I prepared the bed of briquettes
and lit them.
I waited. I waited some more…

Fifteen minutes had passed and not a hint
of a lit briquette. While the other successful
barbecuers were already scarfing up morsels
of golden brown meat, I was forlornly standing
over the dead zone, pale chicken just lying there.

I packed up the chicken and the girls, and drove
back home. The hibachi was small but I could at
least grill up 3-4 pieces of chicken.
I’d not used the hibachi yet, so…

I lit the briquettes.
Someone at Coyote Point
had told me I should use a little lighter fluid, so…
Whooosh!

Flames licked up and out almost 2 feet from
the hibachi.
I screamed.
Thank God the decking was concrete.
I’d never been so scared.

Convinced that grilling wasn’t my bag,
I put the grilling grids of my stove in place
and turned the stove on.
We had the best chicken that day.